Friday, January 25, 2013

6 Overpriced Technologies

Perhaps it is just the economic climate, but everyone seems
to be looking at where they can cut costs. One place people overlook where they
could cut costs is in their computer habits. There are many little money sinks
here and there which can add up to some really big dollars in the long haul.

1. High Quality Digital Cables

I'm not sure where the belief that you had to have the top
of the line cables to make your computer or home entertainment system run at
its peak levels. Perhaps it is a hold over from analog days, where cable
quality really did matter. For digital streams of data, there is very little,
if any, benefit to buying top of the line cables. A digital signal only had two
possible states, on and off. As long as the system understands the current bit,
it makes no difference if the cable was five bucks or five hundred. The
“quality” of the bits going through the cable makes no difference.

2. Printer Ink

I'm sure most people know about the insanity of printer
ink's price. However, this wouldn't be a real list of overpriced technology
without highlighting it. Printer cartridges are much like razor blades. Most
manufacturers will take a loss on the printer itself, counting on making their
money back on selling ink cartridges. Since refilling or using non-name brand
cartridges can be really bothersome, they can charge almost anything they want
for the cartridges - which tends to be an arm and a leg.

3. Text Messages

It is really insane just how much people is charged for text
messages. Data wise, a text message is practically nothing. For example, I am
writing this article on Open Office. If I were to save a completely blank
document in Open Office's default file format, it comes out to 7.04 KB. Using
that same amount of memory, I could create about seventy-one text messages.
Makes you wonder why you're paying per text or for a twenty buck a month
texting plan, huh?

4. Brand Name Components

As with many things, brand name components are often priced
at a premium. While they are sometimes constructed better or have other
features that the buyer may want, sometimes they aren't worth the heavier
price. Unless you're going into some very high end work or gaming on your
computer, you don't really need to go all out on name brand parts. This is
particularly true with computer accessories. While Apple is the one that
everyone picks on for selling their brand name parts and accessories at a
premium, every major company does it somewhere. Knowing where you can cut back
and use an off label part for the same effect can allow you to save big.

5. Video Games

Since I bought up gaming in my previous item, let me go a
bit more in-depth on that. Gaming can be a very expensive hobby if gone
unchecked. But, there are ways to drastically cut the cost of gaming.The biggest is looking for and making use of deals. By
getting a game with a decent preorder bonus or discount, you come out ahead.
However, by pre-ordering you prevent yourself from seeing reviews, so there is
the chance of getting a dud game.

Another option is to wait for the game to go on sale after
it releases. The video game market moves very quickly and games will drop in
price or go on sale within a few months of it releasing. This also gives time
to find reviews and understand what the game is about and if you will enjoy it. That is assuming that you buy your games at all. No, I don't
mean pirate your games. By renting your games or getting them on loan from
services such as Gamefly, it becomes really cheap to play the latest console games.
Then, if you really like a game you can either buy it though them or pick it up
elsewhere.

The final option is to buy games used. While this doesn't
jive well with some publishers, you're able to save a great deal of money by
just getting games used instead of new. The problem is that some games reward
first time buyers via free downloadable and/or multiplayer content that someone
who bought a used copy would have to pay to gain access to. So, you may have to
do some research on that front.

6. Extended Warranties

This time, it really depends on the product on wither or not
an extended warranty would be worth it. For some products it is a good deal but
for others it isn't. Of course, the first thing you have to do is weight the
price of the plan with the cost of the product. Will you just want to replace
the item down the road should something happen or fix it?

For mobile devices, laptops and phones, more often than not
extending the warranty is a worthwhile investment. Mobile devices take far more
abuse than their home-bound counterparts, There is always the danger of a
mobile device being dropped, banged up, or otherwise damaged. If the warranty
covers accidental damage, you will be fine should something unfortunate happen
while out and about.

For home bound items, it factors more into how likely it is
for the item to break. When you look at reviews, take note of failure rates. Is
the company well known for making quality products? How often does
reviewers say the product is breaking down and for what reasons? The answers to
these questions will tell you if an extended warranty is a money waster or a
money saver.